Kahoot!

Students in Mrs. Pickle's classes are reviewing for an upcoming test over "The Outsiders" with the help of Kahoot.     Mrs.  Pickle put in a serious of questions that would help the students remember key points and themes from the novel.    As a question comes up on the screen,  students are challenged to earn the most points possible by being the first right answer.   The right answer is then displayed along with how many students answered each choice.   This is a prefect opportunity for the teacher to clear up any misunderstandings and answer any questions as they prepare for the test.

Mrs. Pickle is not the only teacher on campus using this web tool to help prepare students.  Mr. Lucas' classes used this recently to review science concepts.    Using this tool keeps students engaged and learning throughout the class period.

Sharing the Information!

The teachers at Ridgeview are getting creative in how they are sharing information and resources with students.  Recently in the United States History classes the teachers created a Thinglink that explained the famous engraving of the Boston Massacre and helped students explore the events leading up to and following this historic event.

In our Next Generation Digital Classroom  Ms. Raph and Mrs. Allen are grouping resources using Blendspace to allow students to work through the websites at their own pace and at the same time sharpen their math skills.

Mr. Clark's World Cultures classes are exploring Europe with the help of Symbaloo - an easy way to visually organize the links they will need to learn the material.

MakerSpace meets Science

Wednesday, during Enrichment Clusters, 180 6th grade students  choose to join Mrs. Kay and Mrs. Young in the library to explore the conductivity of elements as they built game controllers with the help of Makey Makey kits.  Makey Makey connects to the computer and uses alligator clips to turn everyday objects into computer keys that will control what is happening on screen.  Students worked in teams of four to explore how to create circuits that could be open or closed based on the need of the game.    Items used to create these controllers included bananas, apples, celery, carnations, potatoes, paper clips, french fries, pipe cleaners and carrots.   Excitement filled the room as students discovered how to create a closed circuit and control the game on screen.   This activity will also be repeated Thursday after school for over 60 kids from all 3 grade levels.

This is the first MakerSpace event Mrs. Kay and Mrs. Young are planning to host this year.   Makerspace is a educational movement that emphasizes the need for students to built and create to learn.   The next event will be in October and will focus on constructing roller coasters.

Here is the lesson and resources used in today's event:

Students Review the Bill of Rights

Students in Mrs. Collins, Mr. Jasman, Mr. Tong and Ms. Webster's class are getting familiar with the first ten amendments as they research how they have impacted various court cases over the years.  After completing some research they were to write 2 letters to the editor expressing both sides of the court case related to the amendment they have chosen.  


Students also expressed their opinions of various uses of the first amendment through the use of polling software, Socrative.   Students chose to agree or disagree with statements and then as a class discussed the results of the class versus results given to the American population.  The discussion allowed for students to critically think through the First Amendment and their thoughts about how it should be and is being applied to American life.

Frog Dissections

Students in 7th Grade Science classes prepared for frog dissection by going online.   The learned about frog anatomy and dissection techniques by running through a virtual dissection on the computer the day before the frogs and scalpels were brought out.   On Dissection day students worked in groups of 3 or 4 to make the cuts and find and identify the various organs.

RMS Staff Get to Play with Augmented Reality

The week leading up to the Spring Holiday, Ridgeview Staff were sent on a Easter Egg Hunt.  To participate the needed to load Aurasma on their smartphone and follow the Ridgeview Middle School Channel.   They could then hold their phones over the image on the Eggs and watch images come to life.    All the eggs had examples of how this tool could be used in the different subject areas to highlight student work or to help students dig deeper into a concept.   As the teachers found each egg they were able to access a google form through the app that allowed them to log their find.  The results were fun for all who aprticiapted and was a good way to introduce to teachers to another way that BYOD can be used in the classroom to enhance instruction.   Professional Development opportunities to develop their own auras will be coming soon.

The teachers were also asked to take "selfies" of videos with the eggs.  Some of these images are in the video below.

7th Grade ELA Brushes Up on Reading Skills

Students in Mrs. Porter's and Mrs. Pickle's classes spent the week before STAAR using the school netbooks and online resources to help prepare for the upcoming STAAR Reading Test.   Students worked through stations including grammar rules with the help of BrainPop videos and online quizzes.    Another station had students on Newsela reading current events and answering questions based on their own reading levels.   This allowed the teacher to work in small groups with other students to review key points and review strategies they had learned all year.